Turkish Forum

Category: Azerbaijan

  • Azerbaijan has fewer problems with EU than Turkey

    Azerbaijan has fewer problems with EU than Turkey

    News.Az interviews Zeyno Baran, an American political scientist.

    How do you evaluate Azerbaijan’s current place in our region?

    Zeyno Baran
    Zeyno Baran

    Azerbaijan has a strategically important location and is at the crossroads between north and south, east and west, as it was said at the Baku conference on dialogue between cultures. The country showed impressive development rates in the last 10 years. It suggests that the future of the country is very promising.

    You have spoken about the international conference on intercultural dialogue, in which you have taken part. Are such events helpful in letting the world know more about Azerbaijan to draw the world’s attention to Karabakh conflict and other problems of the country?

    Yes, certainly. Any of such conferences, especially when the matter is about dialogue between cultures, between religions. Such events are helpful to Azerbaijan in showing its multireligiousness and multiculturalism to the world community.

    Do you see Azerbaijan integrated with the European community in the near future?

    If we mean EU membership, I don’t think this is the event of the nearest future. All the same, dialogue with EU is developing. Everything depends on the level of improvement of social, economic and other spheres in Azerbaijan. Especially, if Azerbaijan wants to become part of Europe, it has to share common values.

    I mean famous European Islamophobia when the point comes to Eurointegration of such Muslim countries, as Turkey and Azerbaijan. Is it true that in this sense Europe will always keep our countries aloof?

    Azerbaijan is much smaller than Turkey which is why we have fewer problems. In addition, Azerbaijan is a country with secular traditions and I don’t think in this view Azerbaijan and Turkey are the same-category countries. In addition, the case with Turkey is related to EU accession, unlike Azerbaijan.

    Leyla Tagiyeva

    News.Az

     

  • Turkish student travels the Caucasus, lands in Armenia

    Turkish student travels the Caucasus, lands in Armenia

    turk studied in baku learning in armenia 2011 03 17 lTurkish student Mehmet Fatih Öztarsu, who calls himself an idealist, set out directly for the Caucasus. His first stop was the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Having characterized Azerbaijan as a “kindred country,” he studied international relations at Baku’s Caucasus University. After his education, while pursuing his research in Georgia, he decided to cross over to the other side of the border, passing into Armenia. (more…)

  • Khojali Genocide

    Khojali Genocide

    The story of Asli Mammadova – the only survivor of Mammadova family in Khojali genocide committed by Armenian and Russian armed forces on 25–26 February 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

  • Davutoglu Says Karabakh Peace Only Possible Through Teritorial Integrity

    Davutoglu Says Karabakh Peace Only Possible Through Teritorial Integrity

    ISTANBUL (Today’s Zaman)—Ankara continues to support a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that sees the dissolution of the mountainous Armenian Republic and its transfer to Azeri control, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday.

    “Turkey wishes restoration of peace and order in southern Caucasus within the framework of this solution. We want normalization of relations not only between Turkey and Armenia but also between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Davutoglu told reporters during the 11th summit of the heads of state and government of the Economic Cooperation Council (ECO) in Istanbul.

    Asked if pressure on Turkey would change its stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Davutoglu said Turkey defends a solution based on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. “This is the norm of international relations. Similarly, Turkey wishes peace and order to prevail in the southern Caucasus within the scope of this solution,” he said, adding that Ankara is eager to normalize relations with Armenia.

    Davutoglu ruled out the likelihood that Turkey will capitulate under pressure, adding that Ankara is ready to support every kind of peaceful process in the Caucasus.

    via Davutoglu Says Karabakh Peace Only Possible Through Teritorial Integrity | Asbarez Armenian News.

  • Ilham Aliyev: What about cutting gas supply to Turkey?

    Ilham Aliyev: What about cutting gas supply to Turkey?

    aliyevAzerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the trilateral meeting of energy ministers in Tbilisi will clarify whether Turkey was willing to help Georgia with its winter gas problems, reads one of the WikiLeaks-published secret cables, the Guardian reported. At the meeting with the U.S. Ambassador, Azerbaijani leader “accused BP for linking commercial issues to the current gas problems, and reported that “nothing had changed” in Azerbaijan’s gas negotiations with Russia during Russia PM Fradkov’s visit to Baku”.

    Aliyev said that BP could deliver more associated gas from the Azeri-Cirag-Gunesli (ACG) field to Azerbaijan for domestic use, but that it was linking its cooperation in this regard with its desire to extend its Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Azerbaijan to develop ACG deep gas. According to him, BP was using blackmail.  “If BP won’t give us more ACG associated gas, I have instructed our officials to tell them no PSA extensions or ACG deep gas,” he said.

    “Aliyev concluded by saying that if Turkey agreed to redistribute its 2007 Shah Deniz gas that “would almost be the way out,” but that then Azerbaijan would still need BP support in both redistributing this Shah Deniz gas and also in giving Azerbaijan more ACG associated gas.

    The President also mused that “we could cut the gas supply to Turkey” if need be. The Ambassador pointed out that this would be an extreme measure with serious repercussions. She asked Aliyev if he knew the reasons for Turkish truculence concerning gas redistribution. He said he did not, but suspected it could be monetary, i.e. buying gas at USD 120 per mcm and selling it at USD 230,” the document reads.

    via Ilham Aliyev: What about cutting gas supply to Turkey? | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

  • Oymen: Turkey Will Support Azerbaijan In Case Of War With Armenia

    Oymen: Turkey Will Support Azerbaijan In Case Of War With Armenia

    171210 oymenIn case of a war with Armenia, Azerbaijan can rely on the support of Turkey, Turkish MP Onur Oymen told Azerbaijani Trend agency on Thursday.

    “Turkey will support Azerbaijan. We must return the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, it is our friendly, fraternal, human duty. Turkey can not remain silent when the Azerbaijani territories remain occupied, and we always talk about it,” said the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Republican People’s Party Oymen.

    According to him, Turkey’s position regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will remain unchanged regardless of which party is in power in the country.

    “The issue of Azerbaijan is not a governmental, but a national question for us. No government can go against the feelings and desires of the people. Nagorno-Karabakh issue is a problem of a national scale like Cyprus for the Turkish people,” said Oymen.

    /Trend/